Submitted by ebb5 t3_y7s95g in askscience
HoTChOcLa1E t1_isy052a wrote
if a modern human now would go to live on a different planet they would maintain their current sleep schedule
if humans were to live on a different planet for millions of years our biology would probably set itsself to the day night cycle of that planet
altho i once heard something about humans having a 25h inner clock but dont pin me down on that
phred14 t1_isy5b26 wrote
I remember reading that at some point nuclear submarine crews were on an 18 hour day, and only the radio officer and captain were on 24 hour days. I had the opportunity to ask a crewman a year or so back and was told that was no longer the practice. But it sounds like it was.
I also once read that the people controlling Mars rovers lived on a 27 hour day. That may have stopped with the newer more autonomous rovers.
ZyliesX t1_isy96l8 wrote
What do you mean by "18 hour day"? When the caption would hit hour 19 of day one, woukd that mean the crewmen would be on the first hour of day two? If so, what was the point?
KamikazeRat t1_isycf1b wrote
Don't think about counting how many days have passed, more like its an 18 hour routine... instead of a 24 hour routine...instead of sleep for 8 hours then awake for 16, they would be asleep for 8 hours then be awake for 10, then start over. So from an outside perspective your wake-up time rotates.
I think the point was the keep sailors better rested... instead of potentially being awake for 16 hours and a bit groggy, the longest you should be awake (barring sleep disturbances) would be 10 hours. If the whole ship is rotating at this rate, its the same number of crewmen covering the same number of work shifts, but less chances of a sleepy mistake.... in theory
desolation0 t1_isydy34 wrote
Wouldn't that run into increased shift handoff errors?
mrbrinks t1_iszgotl wrote
Possibly. But theoretically the crew rotating out is a bit better rested, enabling them to transfer their duties for effectively.
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Footos3003 t1_isy9tsz wrote
Humans inner clock is not exactly 24h (sometimes more sometimes less depending on the person) but it's influenced by external factors such as light, time of eating etc., so you always lock to 24h (it's also how your body can adapt to changing timezones).
If you leave someone long enough in a place without natural light or external points of reference, they will go back to their "inner" clock which is based on the actual fluctuation of circadian proteins and hormones
Isopbc t1_isyfz4k wrote
> more sometimes less depending on the person) but it’s influenced by external factors such as light, time of eating etc., so you always lock to 24h
Just wanted to point out that a small percentage of people do not lock to 24h
Non24 sleep wake disorder is most commonly found in the blind, but some sighted people also suffer with it.
desolation0 t1_isyekps wrote
Some biological cycles are easier to up regulate or down regulate so can be more adaptive for the baseline to err slightly in the direction that is easier to correct. Just let the outside stimulus do its magic to keep things sensible.
StelioZz t1_isyxhhe wrote
Million years? Absolutely no. Sleep schedule is something you can change, fix, break on demand with some effort and heavily depends on external factors.
For starters sleep cycle is not something hard-coded to the human system. Closer thing to that would be sleep ratio. For example 8(sleep) -16 (awake) is the most common but it's not even close to be the same for everyone. Many have 7-17 many 9-15. Many are unable to keep it in a 24h cycle, they will either sleep every day earlier or later and every now and then they will need to fix it (the latter is actually pretty common issue for many people nowadays.
Going back in the past as many people already mentioned is that humans before society required proper schedules were using biphasic or even triphasic sleep schedules. I still belive (personal experience) that biphasic sleep is superior however it's very problematic to follow in a modern society due to being often required to stay awake for 15+ h
Long story short like I said there are a ton of examples and each individual will adjust differently but I'm very confident that if for example we move to a planet with 36h cycle almost no one would keep their 8-16 cycle. It doesn't divide the day perfectly (and each day being the same) and it will be extremely wonky. I'm sure most would go to biphasic sleep cycle and do something like 6-12 and 6-12. Or maybe even triphasic 4-8 three times.
Some might try to have monophasic with naps or other crazy scenarios but doubt many would try to keep earths cycle
[deleted] t1_isy5g97 wrote
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HoTChOcLa1E t1_it3198t wrote
yeah i know, the moon is getting pushed outwards, therefore needing longer for one circle arround earth which causes friction between then which makes earth spin slower
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